Monthly Archives: February 2012

Large marshmallows dipped in chocolate and decorated with a variety of toppings.

Yield: About 30-35 large marshmallows

It’s funny, how we make decisions sometimes. I was wandering through the blogosphere, looking for fun cookies and other recipes to try when I found a picture of these marshmallows dipped in chocolate. They reminded me of a local candy company that sells amazing candied apples. I’m not a big fan of caramel apples, myself, so I was much more impressed by the one tray of candy marshmallows in their window. They look a lot like the apples, just not quite so round. The next day, I found marshmallows on clearance at the grocery store, and in that moment, the decision was made.

Chocolate chip cookies with pudding are so soft and chewy! Pudding makes the cookies even better.

My daughter said, “It’s been so long since I’ve had a chocolate chip cookie, I forgot how they taste!” One downside of blogging about cookies is that I rarely make the same cookie twice. There is always something new and different that I want to try. I found the best of both worlds with this recipe… a basic chocolate chip cookie, with a little twist that makes it different and new.

I was skeptical about the idea of pudding in the cookie. I guess I wasn’t the only one, because a quick question to the Thumb community {Thumb is a fun and fast paced social app, where you vote thumbs up or down on questions submitted by users.} gave me a result of 63% in favor of pudding in a chocolate chip cookie, and 37% against it. I’m guessing most of those people hadn’t actually tasted it though… because of those that did, the votes were 100% in favor of it.

First task: Mix up the dough and choose some chips.

Why yes, this is how I keep my baking chips.

What?!

I chose chocolate chips and peanut butter chips, because I love them both so dearly, and used half a bag of each.

Did I ever tell you how much I love my cookie scoop? If you don’t have one, please get one. You will love it too. It makes the job of making cute, evenly sized little cookies so easy and fun.

These baked for 8 minutes and came out just perfect. Soft, but not too gooey. Done, but not too crunchy.

The pudding gives them a rich, creamy flavor. I shared them with some friends, and they all gave them a thumbs up. It’s possible that my friends are biased. I shared them with my kids, who also gave them a thumbs up. Bias also possible there. What convinced me finally was how many times my kids asked for more cookies. My daughter who eats like a bird asked me for a second one, and both my sons asked for seconds and thirds. I’m convinced that if you take these to a family gathering or church social, you will be carrying home an empty plate.

(“I’m actually wondering if the church social aspect is why this recipe is so huge in the first place. I halved it because I didn’t want 8 dozen cookies in my house. If I was taking it to a church social, I would most definitely make 8 dozen!)

A simple recipe for a festive white chocolate popcorn snack that is perfect for entertaining.

Source: I’ve been making this popcorn treat for years, but recently found some good addition ideas at She Wears Many Hats.

Yield: about 8 cups

I have friends that I get together with once a month, and this week it was my turn to host. Since my lunch of pasta salad with italian dressing and crescent roll knots with garlic butter was slightly less than impressive, I figured I could wow them with a table snack. I love white chocolate popcorn, and I loved Amy’s ideas for souping it up and making it a little more… well, fun. Continue reading “Party Popcorn” »

Source: I found this recipe at Picky Palate, but changed it slightly to suit my purposes. And my pantry.

Yield: About 2-3 dozen

I chose and discarded about 10 recipes last night. I guess some days you just can’t find what you are looking for. The thing I was looking for was a cookie that did not involve a trip to the grocery store. I was ultimately unsuccessful in that. I also wanted a cookie that would add to a fun Friday night, and I failed there as well. On the bright side, the cookie I eventually came up with was really fun and delicious!

I don’t get into that many holidays, but I kind of like Valentine’s Day. Not because I’m into being mushy and romantic, but I just think it’s a fun day to give love to all my friends and family. I definitely do not want to go out to dinner that day. It’s as bad as Mothers Day, the most crowded restaurant day of all time. That is not my idea of a good time. What I love is a quiet evening at home, a candlelight dinner, fun treats and little gifts for my kids.

We probably eat waffles once a week at our house. They cook quickly, and everyone loves them, and it is easy to create variations with chocolate chips, fruits, spices, and fun syrups. This week, I kept the waffles simple and made a nice apple topping to give them some life. It was pretty simple, and only took a few minutes to do. I see more of these fruit toppings in our breakfast future!

I used Gala apples, because frankly, that’s what was in my fridge. I love Gala and Fuji for eating plain, but normally use something more tart like Granny Smith or Pink Cripps for cooking with. The really lovely thing about the way I cook is that I am not that picky! I will use what I have and make the best of it, even if it is not ideal. I probably would not use a softer apple for this, however. Something like Red Delicious is too sweet and soft to work well cooked.

When I saw the photo of these cookies on Pinterest, I knew I would make them. It turns out, Superbowl Sunday was the perfect day for the job. I was also kind of excited to try Dulce de Leche, a product I have never used. It’s a tragedy, really… sweet, caramelized milk cannot possibly taste anything but amazing. The only real problem was finding it at the store.

Yield: About 3 dozen cookies, depending on how much raw dough you eat.

It has been a while since I was this excited about a cookie. Honestly. I don’t say that lightly, because I have a tendency to get more excited about cookies than I should. Just check my waistline if you don’t believe me. I’ve been hearing about Biscoff spread lately, but have never tried it myself. It’s not available in every store, but my local grocery store had it right by the register, bless them! The checker engaged me in a conversation about it, which should have been my first clue. She said she puts it on everything, and I told her I was planning to make cookies, and gave her the link to the recipe.